


Sheldon's Proposal

by KnightsofAce



Category: The Big Bang Theory (TV)
Genre: Amy Farrah Fowler Bashing, Aromantic spectrum, Asexual Character, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Marriage Proposal, Platonic Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:28:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29577519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnightsofAce/pseuds/KnightsofAce
Summary: Sheldon proposes to Penny. Though as many things are with Sheldon, it's a bit more complicated than it appears to be.
Relationships: Sheldon Cooper & Penny, Sheldon Cooper/Penny, but it's platonic
Comments: 3
Kudos: 44





	Sheldon's Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so in this Sheldon is asexual grey-romantic. It's technically Shenny, but it's platonic. I know that that's a bit confusing, but I promise that it is explained in the fic.

“Penny?” Penny looks up from her phone to look at Sheldon who had been doing something on his computer.

“Yes, sweetie.” She says to encourage him to keep going. He was giving her a slightly unsure look. Penny would have to say that she was a bit concerned. Sheldon was usually confident about pretty much everything.

Sheldon fixed his face back into a determined look. “We should get married.”

“I-I’m so-sorry, w-what was that?!” Penny sputtered. She could safely say that she had no idea what was going through her friend’s head. 

“We should get married.” Sheldon repeated slightly louder. “I thought I had said it loud enough before.”

“Volume was not the issue Sheldon!”

“Oh, ok. Well are you going to give me an answer?”

‘I’m going to need a bit of reasoning first.” Penny shook her head trying to figure out what the hell was going on. “I mean I only see you as a friend, and as far as I was aware, you were the same. And what about Amy? Or Leonard?”

Sheldon got up from his desk and moved over to the couch, next to where she was sitting in the armchair. “I also only see you as my friend, my best friend in fact. I’m not proposing a romantic marriage. Think of it more as a marriage of convenience.”

“A marriage of convenience?” Penny repeated slowly, still trying to make sense of everything.

“Yes. That’s the best term I can think of for it. It would benefit both of us, and we wouldn’t have to worry about the complications of romantic feelings.”

“Ok I get that sweetie, but how would it benefit both of us. And you still haven’t even mentioned your current girlfriend.”

“Since you keep bringing her up, I guess I will start with Amy Farrah Fowler. I am not comfortable in my relationship with her, and have wanted to break up with her for some time. Everytime that I have gone to do so, she usually finds some way to change the topic or distract me with something else.”

“So your solution is to marry your neighbor? And what about your relationship has made you uncomfortable?” Penny couldn’t help but be curious. As far as she had known, the two had been fine. Then again thinking back, she remembered moments where Sheldon had seemed somewhat tense, and reluctant to spend alone time with the woman.

“That’s not fully what brought upon this proposal, though it is part of it. And as for what is making me uncomfortable, I’m sure you have heard Amy expressing her interest in coitus. Particularly, her having coitus with me.”

“Yes?”

“Well I never really fought any reason to “come out”, as you would say, but I have known almost all my life that I am asexual. And while some asexuals are willing to be in a sexual relationship, I am not.”

Penny could not say that she was shocked. She had always suspected that he was at least on the asexual spectrum, but she hadn’t wanted to assume. “Well have you brought this up to Amy?”

“I have. She said that it was ok for us to wait until I was ready. And when I said that I wouldn’t ever be ready, she just waved it off and changed the topic. The next day she continued her remarks.” 

Penny could feel herself getting more and more upset. “That’s awful, I’m sorry you had to go through that sweetie.” She reached out and patted his shoulder. She knew that he wasn’t very big on physical contact, so she had to restrain herself from pulling him into a hug. “Did you ever bring this up to any of the boys?”

“I did bring it up to Leonard. He said that I probably just hadn’t met the right person, and how would I know I didn’t like it if I didn’t try it.”

Penny didn’t think that she could get more upset, but clearly she could. “Oh that man is getting a piece of my mind!” She started to get up to track down Leonard and Amy, but Sheldon grabbed onto her wrist.

“While that would be entertaining, I still need an answer on my proposal.” 

Penny plopped back down in the armchair, she had totally forgotten about that. “Ok, well are we only getting married so that you don’t have to figure out a way to break up with your horrid girlfriend, or are there other reasons? Because I’m going to need other reasons.”

“There are other reasons. Not having to find a way to break up with Amy would be one of those. Another is that you are one of the few people I can stand enough to see myself living with. There would be more financial stability on your end. I make plenty enough to be able to afford this apartment, and you wouldn’t have to worry about rent. Meaning that you could also quit your job at the Cheesecake Factory, and could focus on something that you actually enjoy doing. Be that, acting or your education or even something else. I enjoy cleaning, so you wouldn’t have to do that. My Mom will stop nagging me about settling down. I have zero interest in having children, and I know that you do too. Those are quite a few reasons. Do you have any questions?”

He had made some good points. She did understand his quirks well enough by now that she knows how to deal with them. Plus he would probably draw up a contract, and she could make changes to it so that she would enjoy living here. The apartment was nice, and she wouldn’t have to worry about rent. She had been sick of being a server for a while, so it would be nice to focus on something she actually wanted to do. Not having to clean is always a plus. Her parents had also been nagging her about settling down, especially since she and Leonard had broken up. And while they would nag her about grandkids, at least Sheldon would be on her side with that. Leonard had wanted to have tons of kids. So yeah, Penny had to admit that he did have some good reasons, and up sides to it. “Ok I do have some questions. You said that this would basically be a platonic marriage. So what if I find someone that I want to be in a romantic relationship with, and the same goes for you.”

“Well I would have no problem with you finding a romantic or sexual partner, just keep me notified. And if you eventually find a romantic partner that you wish to marry, I will agree to a divorce. We can even write a prenup so that we won’t have to worry quite as much about possessions after. As for myself, before Amy I was fairly certain that I was aromantic as well. I have come to realize that instead I am some sort of grey-romantic. So while it is very unlikely, if I form a romantic attachment to a person I will notify you as well.”

“Ok, that does sound pretty good. What about rooming conditions?”

“I thought that was pretty obvious. I will keep my own room, and you can have Leonard’s old room. I like having my own space, and you won’t have to worry about me when you bring home someone for coitus.”

“While this all sounds like a pretty good arrangement, I do have one more question. Why marriage? We would basically just be living as roommates. So why ask me to marry you, and not just become your roommate.”

“While yes it fundamentally is about the same, there are some key differences. One being that I won’t have to worry about being questioned about a romantic relationship. Another being that you are one of the few people in my life that I can be completely comfortable around. I don’t have to worry about social cues because I know that you will inform me of any I miss in a polite manner. I can ramble on about my work, and while you may not understand it, you will still try to participate in the conversation, and listen. Leonard was a good roommate, but my relationship with him and my relationship with you are fundamentally different. Unfortunately I have never been that skilled in understanding emotions, so trying to describe the difference is a bit difficult. Leonard is my friend, but I can’t see myself spending the rest of my life at his side. You two are different in that aspect as well.”

“Awww sweetie. That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. Get me a ring and a proper proposal, and you got yourself a wife.”

“Is that non-optional social convention?”

“Yes Sheldon, it is.”

“Oh, alright.”

\--------  
One week, One Ring, and One Proposal Later  
\--------

“Hey guys.” Penny called as she and Sheldon walked into the living room.

“Hey.” Howard and Leonard called, not looking up from their game of Halo. Raj however, did look up. And he noticed the hand that Penny was holding up.

“What is that?” He scrambled over and grabbed her hand. “Ooh 24k gold band and a 3k diamond. That is a nice ring.” That seemed to catch the other guys attention.

“A ring?!” Leonard squeaked from his seat on the couch.

“Yep.” Penny said, showing off her left hand. “Sheldon gave it to me.”

“Sheldon?!” This time Howard joined in on Leonard’s squeaks. Raj surprisingly didn’t seem that affected.

“Yep again.” Penny said leaning slightly into Sheldon. “He proposed. He tried to convince me to elope, but I reminded him that his mom would kill him if he did that.”

“Yes, she would. So it seems that we have to go through the whole annoying hoop-la of an actual wedding.” Sheldon sounded rather put out about that.

Raj leaned towards Penny. “Don’t worry I can help you plan it. I’ve always wanted to plan a wedding.”

Penny smiled at him. “Thanks Raj, I would appreciate it. You don’t seem that surprised?”

Raj waved her off. “Eh, you and Sheldon have always been close. And anyone with eyes could tell that you and Leonard and Sheldon and Amy were not good matches. I’m just happy that you two are finally happy.”

“Thank you Raj.” Penny pulled him into a hug. Then went over to Sheldon so that they could call and tell his mother the good news.

**Author's Note:**

> To me, I've always seen Sheldon as asexual. And while I do ship Shenny, I see him as somewhere on the aromantic spectrum as well. But for me, the big thing has always been that i saw him as asexual. I myself am asexual as well as somewhere on the aromantic spectrum, so his character was a nice break in the show. It seems like every other character in the show is obsessed with sex, so Sheldon's character always gave me that reprieve from it. Then they had to go and ruin it with Amy. I actually liked Amy's character at first, but then they made her constantly bug him about sex. That was a big no-no for me. And I hated the episode where he gave in. I was just uncomfortable while watching it. It is possible to have a romantic relationship without sex, and it would have been nice to have them show that.  
> And when I was researching aromanticism to try and figure out what I was, I learned about queer platonic relationships. And while I have never been in one, I really want too. As I've never been in one, I wasn't entirely sure how to write him asking to be in one. I did my best, but if anyone has any information about qpr's that I missed or that you just want to share, feel free to let me know in the comments.


End file.
